Operating-lever.



W. G. A. HENRY.

OPERATING LEVER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 28, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented Apr. 12,

Z QWHHHH k FMLI W l n INVENTOR W. G. A. HENRY.

OPERATING LEVER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 28, 1909.

2SHEETB-SHBET z.

I NVENTOR Patented Apr. 12, 1910.

WILLIAM e. A. HENRY, or oonumsus; onzo.

- ornan'rrncennvnn Specification of Letters iatent.

Patented Apr. 12, 1910.

Application filed luly 28, 1909. Serial No. 510,133.

To all itfmay concern: 1 Be it known that 1, WILLIAM G. A. HENRY, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Columbus, in the county of Frank lin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsinoperatinfi- Levers, of which t e following is a speci cation;

The invention relates to operating levers,

and particularly to what are known as 'reversingflevers for use in connection with various types of valve gear employed with' en ines. The invention has for its principa objects; the provision of an operating or reversing lever, as it is ordinarily termed, of im' roved construction, adapted to be operate directly manually, or indirectly by means of gearing which renders the actuation more easy; the provision of an im% proved combined hand and gear operated reverse lever wherein the gear employed is nection with the lever of Fi utilized as the catch member whenthe lever is operated directly by-hand, and the'provision of a lever of the character specified, whereinethe gear used as a. catch is securely and positively maintained in operative position by a holding latch, and wherein the latch is moved to unlocked position and the gear carried out of operative position successively by the gripping of the handle by the operator.

Certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the operatinggor reverse lever; I

igure 2 is an edge elevation of the lever;

Figure 3-is a side elevation of a slightly modified form of lever; 1

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic side elevation illustrating the application of the lever-to the operation of the ordinary Stephenson link gear, and a 5 Figure 5 is a detail side elevation of the reversible ratchet which is employed in cones 1 and 2.

'The invention is illustrated in Figure 4 as applied to the'operation of the Stephenson link motion commonl used for adjusting and reversin the position of 'the'valve employed on a ocomotive, but it will be understood that the lever is of general application and maybe used in connection with other types of engines, and other link motions aside from the Stephenson, the construction being obviously just as applicable to the Walschaert linkmotion ver" commonly employed, and in fact to any re ation which] calls for a combined hand and power operated lever. Withthe link mot onsas now employed upon locomotives, it is a matter versing lever, and the object of this inven tion is to eliminate such difficulty by applying a gear connection for-moving the lever. Such a connection necessarily increases the time required to move the lever,

of considerable .di i'eiilty to operate the re T and in order that the lever maybe operated rapidly in case of emergency, the device is so arranged that the gearing may be thrown out and the lever o erated directly in the usual way, by mere y turning the handle. The details of construction will be understood from the drawing in connection with the detailed description hereinafter.

Referring to the diagrammatic illustrw tion of Figure to indi one a ner in which the lever maybe employed, '1- is the handle, 2 is, the sector over which the handle moves, 3 is the connecting rod extending from the handle to the'bellecrank lever 4p, 5 is a second connecting rod extending from the end of the bell-crank lever 4 tothe reversing sector 6, and 7'and 8 are the eccentricswhich govern the valves of the locomotive, the position of which eccentric is governed from the sector 6, by the connecting arms shcwn, such general construction being old and well. known in the art. f

Referring now 'to the construction of the lever as shown in Figures 1 and 2, it w ll be seen that the'handle 1 is slotted above the sector 2 and carries in such slotted portion a block 9, which block 9 carries the worm gear 10 mounted u on the shaft 11. The shaft 11 is provided i one end (Fig. 5), which ratchet 1s rotated. from the pawls 13 and 14 actuated from the handle 15, the operating lever 12' being pro-- vided whereby either pawl may be held out of engagement with the ratchet wheel depending upon which direction it 1s desired to rotate the shaft 11. As indicated in Fig-' ure 2, the shaft 11 with the worm 1018 Set slightly at an angle with respect to the'seewith a ratchet wheel 12 at a tor 2so that the teeth of the sector may be cut strai ht across instead of at an an 1e, thus ren ering the construction somew at cheaper. As indicated in Figure 1, the worm is in engagement with the teeth of the sector, but when desired this worm may be withdrawn from engagement with the teeth in order to permit the handle to be moved without operating the handle 15, and this is accomplished from the gripping member or handle 16 at theupper end of the handle 1,.which member 16' is pivoted to the handle. 1 and connected to the block 9 which carries the worm, by means of the two side bars 17 17, (Figure 2). The block 9 is provided with a pair of upstanding lugs 10 18, which lugs carry a bolt 19. The bolt 19 engages longitudinal slots in the side bars 17, 17 in order that the side bars may have a slight amount of lost motion with respect to the block 9, the purpose of which lost motion is to permit the side bars to operate a catch to release the block 9 before such block is 'moved'upward. The catch comprises a bell-crank lever 21 pivoted in the handle 1 at its middle portion, and having 2 its lower end in engagement with a lug 22 on the block 9, and its other endpivoted to the side bars 17 17. It will be seen from the foregoing that when the gripping member 16 is grasped and pressed inward, the side 2 bars 17 17 move upward, first disengaging the catch 21 from the lug 22 and then moving the block 9 with its worm upward out of engagement with the teeth on the sector 2, after which the lever 1 may be freely moved in either direction. The handle 1 is slotted intermediate the bars 17, 17, as indicated in Fi re 1, and in this slotted portion a guide ar'23 is mounted surrounded by a spring 24:, which spring is normally 5 under compression and tends to hold the side bars 17, I? in their lowermost position, and the catch 21 in the positionshown in Figure 1, so that as soon as the gripping member 16 is released the catch 21 returns to theposition indicated in Figure 1. It will be seen from the foregoing that the handle 1 maybe moved'along the sector 2 either by actuating the ratchet handle 15 backward andforward, or that in case of emergency,

'45 when it isdesired to move the handle rapidly without the 'useof the ratchet handle 15, the upper end of the handle 1 may be gripped by the operator in the usual manner, thus swinging the catch 21 and lifting the block 9, and the handle then swung quickly along the sector, until the desired position is reached. It, is obvious that any form of ratchet other than that shown in Figure 5 might be used if desired.

The form of device shown in Figure 3 may be operated by means of a crank 25 in stead of a ratchet handle, the shaft 26'which carries the'worm 27 being a sufiicient distance abovethe sector 28 to permit the use of a crank instead of a ratchet.

tional space betweenthe shaft 26 and the sector 28 is secured by the use of a worm wheel 29-mounted in the handle 30, intermediate the worm 27 and the sector 28. In

other respects the construction of the lever The addiw eras 1e and operating mechanism is precisely the same. as that of the device shown in Figures 1 and 2 and described heretofore in detail. Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the followi'nga 1. In combination in an operating lever, a pivoted handle, a rack bar, gearing on the handle cooperating with the rack bar whereby the handle may be movedalong the rack bar, means for moving the gearing into and out ofengagement with the rack, and positive locking means for maintaining the gearing in engagement with the rack.

2. In combination in an operating lever,

a pivoted handle, a rack bar, gearing on the handle mounted for bodil movement into and out of engagement wlth the rack bar, positive locking means foranaintaining the 8,5 gearing in engagement with the rack and a common means for operating the locking means and moving the gearing into and out of engagement with the rack bar.

3. The combination with a pivoted operating handle, a fixed rack bar mounted adjacent thereto, of: a worm mounted on the handle for reciprocation and adapted to engage the teeth of the rack bar, positive locking means for maintaining the Worm in engagement with the rack bar, and pawl and ratchet mechanism for operating the worm. 4. In combination in an operating lever, a pivoted handle, a rack bar, means for moving the handle along the rack bar including a movable worm, means for moving the :worm into andout of a driving connection with therack bar, and positive locking means for maintaining the worm in driving position. 1

5. In combination in an operating lever, a. pivoted handle, a rack bar, means for mov-. ing the handle along the rack bar including a movable worm, means for moving the worm into and out of a driving connection with the rack bar, positive means for main-, taining the worm in driving position, and a common means for operating the locking means and moving the worm out of driving position. 6; The combination with a pivoted operating handle and a toothed sector ad acent thereto, of a worm mounted on the handle for reciprocation and adapted to engage the teeth 0 the sector, means for rotating the worm, a latch for holding the worm in engagement with the sector, a gripping member on the handle, and connections from such member to the latch and worm whereby the actuation of the member moves the 1 latch to unlocked position and carries the worm out of engagement with the sector.

7 The combination with a pivoted operating handle and a toothed sector ad acent thereto, of a worm mounted on the handle for reciprocation and adapted. to engage the then carries the worm out of engagement 10 teeth of the sector, means for rotating the with the sectorI worm, a spring-held latch for holding the I In testimony whereof I have hereunto worm in engagement with the sector, a grip signed my name in the presence of the two ping member on the handle, a lost motion subscribeci witnesses.

connection from themember to the worm WILLIAM C. A. HENRY. and a connection from'the lever to the latch Witnesses: whereby the actuation of the member first J. A. DILDINE,

moves the latch to unlocked position and GEO, W. DAVIDSON; 

